Chapter 9

"Master?" Sanura asked, speaking into thin air.

She wandered down the old staircase, tracing her hand along the wall. Several more steps and Sanura reached the end and the room spread out before her. She continued looking for Bakura and took her first step into the spacious temple. There was debris everywhere and dust was covering everything. The room was very chilly and Sanura shivered. She walked on, staying close to the walls and tracing her fingers over the hieroglyphics. She took extra care to avoid the blood splattered on the walls as well. On the ceiling, there was a mass of devices, chains, and huge wooden wheels, which must have served a purpose at one point. By now, they were all rusting and falling apart. Sanura separated herself from the dimly lit corners of the shrine and walked toward the dais in the middle of the room. On the dais was a stone tablet with even more hieroglyphics and strange holes. Sanura recognized one of the shapes; it looked just like Bakura's Millennium Ring. Sanura looked around, she could see everything now. She noticed that there were skeletons and rotting corpses scattered throughout the room. Suddenly, the room became deathly cold. Sanura shivered and hugged herself to keep warm. She glanced at the ceiling again, a white fog was emitting from it. A small, formless figure separated itself from the fog and glided fairly close to Sanura. She took a step back and another figure flew around from behind.

Ghosts. Sanura realized it; she could hear the faint screaming and wails of these lost souls. Sanura's head started to throb and her body felt like a thousand knives were stabbing her. She could tell that these spirits were sending her a message: this was the pain they had to endure, so now, you will suffer too. Sanura fell to her knees, screaming, with tears streaming down her face. The pain was incredible. She was going to die, and Sanura knew it. She was going to die and no one would notice, much less care. This was the reason why those tears were falling, not because of the pain but that, not even her own master would care. But that was no surprise. For all Sanura knew, if Bakura did find her, he would either let her body rot or he would cremate her.

"Sanura!!" A voice sliced through the cold air.

The pain dissipated quickly but Sanura remained on the floor. She opened her eyes to see Bakura running up the steps of the platform. A huge gray monster, with a human-like torso and a snake for legs, was hovering over her. Bakura pulled Sanura up into a sitting position, her eyes a little hazy. Then he started to yell.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

Sanura couldn't respond. She was too tired and she was completely ready to pass out.

"Do you know why this house is forbidden?!"

Sanura shook her head slowly.

"This is why!" Bakura screamed, throwing his arm back to gesture towards the spirits.

"These ghosts will tear you apart! They will kill anybody that walks in here. They will kill you, Sanura!" Bakura said, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

Sanura nodded, her eyes closed tightly but tears were still leaking through. Bakura sighed to calm himself down.

"Come on, let's go." He said, standing up.

Sanura didn't move, she was shaking. Five ghosts circled her and Bakura slowly.

"Hey! Back off! Don't touch her. Save your appetite for the Pharaoh and his damn priests."

Sanura looked up at Bakura. Yet again he had saved her life.

"What…what are they?" Sanura gathered enough strength to ask her question.

"They are the spirits that used to inhabit Kul Elna." Bakura said, following the ghosts with his eyes.

"What happened to them, Master?" Sanura asked, attempting to stand up.

"They were murdered. This whole village was murdered. I was the only survivor." Bakura explained, as the gray monster behind her disappeared into the darkness.

"I…I'm sorry." Sanura murmured.

Silence consumed them both, once again. One by one the ghosts faded and eventually disappeared. This time, Sanura was the one to break the silence.

"Um…Master? What was that?"

"What?"

"That…monster."

Bakura sighed and turned towards Sanura.

"That monster is my ka, Diabound. Do you know what a ka is, Sanura?" Bakura's eyes were a bit softer. Apparently, this was a touchy subject.

Sanura shook her head; she was still very quiet.

"Basically, it's a reflection of the soul."

"Oh." Sanura bowed her head.

"You know, you ask too many questions."

"I'm sorry, Master."

"You apologize too much, too."

"I'm sorry."

"Ugh!" Bakura threw his arms up into the air in frustration.

Sanura giggled, catching up to her master's side.

"Th…those ghosts did they…?"

"Yes, they didn't pass over."

Today, Pachet was not alone. She had three new angels that had joined her. But it was a bittersweet situation: they were all children. The youngest, a boy, was only four years old. He had died of a fever. A little girl, who had recently turned six years old, died of a snakebite. The last child, well, not exactly child per say, was thirteen and she lost her life the night before as she fell asleep. Pachet has planned to talk to Osiers about this unexpected death. As much as Pachet loved children, she hated to see them this early in their "lives." But this kind of situation wasn't uncommon. See, in Egypt, the majority of the people only lived up to be about thirty.

The oldest of the group had taken a great interest in Sanura. She was constantly asking questions about her and Pachet would answer them all with a smile. Today was no different.

"But, why?"

"They seek revenge. They won't rest until the Pharaoh is dead."

"Scary!" The little boy cried.

He ran over to Pachet, where she picked him up and placed him on her lap. The younger girl scooted towards the oldest of them.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Pachet sighed.

The giant mirror in the middle of the floor turned black. This device acted more of a magnifying glass than a mirror itself. Pachet could turn it on or off and she could watch everything that Sanura, or even Bakura, did. Overall, it was a very useful object.

Bakura and Sanura walked down the path side by side in silence. Sanura usually trailed behind Bakura, so, being allowed to walk next to him was a treat. Suddenly, Bakura stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes locked on the horizon.

"Oh, shit." Bakura cursed.

"Master, what is it?"

"Damn! Why'd he have to come now?" He asked to no one in particular. He glanced down at Sanura.

"We're leaving. Now." Bakura said urgently.


Author's Note: I now have a video for this, you'll figure it out when you see it...I only have two videos on there anyway. The website is on my profile...So, check it out!